Hi guys! Okay, so I bugged my friend enough that DarthRuinous pretty much made me get my own account. We both love/love-to-hate Palpatine, so we are co-writing a story I hope to start posting soon. This isn't that one, since DarthRuinous doesn't care much for slash. But I do! : ) Lol, so slash warnings for future chaps. I made an Archive of Our Own account too, for any stories that are too much for here, yikes. I hope you enjoy my stories.
Not in His Plans
The adoring masses screamed his name.
He barely noticed.
His attention belonged solely to the young Jedi Knight staring down at him, less than a half-meter away, a faint smirk on the tanned face. Anakin held himself firmly, shoulders back and chin up, clearly struggling to contain his pride and enjoyment of the attention bestowed upon him. Beside the fledgling Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi tempered his enthusiasm with a small shake of his head. Obi-Wan stood stiffly as well but for a far different reason. Selfless Jedi were not supposed to revel in hero-worship.
Palpatine smothered a snort of derision as he reached for the medallions at his side. Anakin was as far from selfless as Palpatine was from the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan simply could not see what lay before his bearded face: Anakin lived for recognition, for acknowledgement. No amount of simpering Jedi meditation would remove such a desire.
And he knew exactly how to inflame such a need. Palpatine found it laughably easy to convince the Jedi of the necessity for public ceremonies like this one. The morale of the Republic itself depended on the creation of heroes and symbols that beings of all species and planets could rally behind. He knew Obi-Wan hated the idea with all the righteous indignation that the Jedi Order could muster, and he knew that Anakin secretly loved it.
Consequently, he bestowed a proud smile of his own on the Jedi Knight as he draped the medallion over the shaggy head. "You see," he murmured into the young man's ear as the infatuated crowds screamed their delight, "I was right to choose you for this mission. No other could have accomplished so much in so short a time."
"Your Excellency," and Anakin's face flamed a deep red as he bowed, "I am honored, I - " he stopped abruptly and bowed again in a fluster of emotions. He was both honored and pleased, Palpatine observed as Anakin backed away and Obi-Wan stepped forward to receive his award. He slipped the medallion around Obi-Wan's neck with a meaningless comment about Jedi service and the Republic's eternal gratitude.
Obi-Wan could not care less about praise, and in so being, he lost the path to his former padawan's soul. Praise dropped from the Jedi Master's lips with far less regularity than exhortations for improvement. Over these many years, Palpatine's subtle encouragement led Anakin to seek him out rather than his old master. After each mission, after he debriefed the Council, Anakin would invariably appear in Palpatine's office to agonize over each detail. Invariably in turn, Palpatine would make himself available to extend endless emotional support and practical guidance.
Anakin had come to depend on him.
Palpatine reached out and turned both men gently to face the audience, which erupted into new cheers. Soon, the whole galaxy would know. Already, every suggestion and question that Palpatine offered sank into the young man's mind with all the gravitas of a sacred creed. From time to time, he heard his own sage wisdom coming from the young Jedi almost verbatim as he argued before the Council, and he smiled to think of Anakin like that. His representative. His emissary. The whole process only required an official stamp of approval.
Tear Anakin apart, and two facets of his personality would remain: the need for approval and a desperate desire for power. Loyal to his friends and not to abstract principles, Anakin proved the opposite of a true Jedi Knight. Palpatine often mused in his meditations how the boy might have been different had he not been born a slave. Tamer, most certainly, and somehow less. He shuddered to think of Anakin as a dead-eyed Jedi Knight, carrying out the Council's every wish with serene and blind obedience.
Anakin had lived. Loved. Hated. Created. Destroyed. He proved unique among ten thousand Jedi, and yet they continued to ignore his galactic potential. For all their power and foolishness, Palpatine nearly pitied them. The Order nursed its own devastation close to its breast, oblivious to the fangs dripping with deadly poison. They trusted in the Prophecy, in the ludicrous idea that the Force would inevitably balance in some great master plan that could never be fully comprehended. The Jedi waited for their fate; the Sith created theirs. Who then was truly the weaker?
Palpatine followed the two powerful Jedi from the platform, staring at the backs of their heads with detached amusement. His guards filed in behind and on both sides, flanking him and covering him from access to the screaming citizens of Coruscant, as though the massive force shields that encased the staging area were not enough. Ahead, the two Jedi shifted left to return to the Temple.
He moved right to step into the Chancellor's private shuttle, which would return him to the Senate Office Building for additional promotional publicity with several influential senators, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Surprised and inwardly rankling at the touch, Palpatine turned and found Anakin at his side.
Anakin shared his surprise, hastily pulling his hand away from the dark veda cloth as though shocked at his own audacity. Palpatine forced a gentle smile. "Anakin, what can I do for you?" He waved back one faceless enthusiastic guard, who had stepped forward to intervene.
"Chancellor, I was wondering if, if I might speak with you later," Anakin cleared his throat. "About the mission. It's been over a month."
"Only that long?" Palpatine let a small amount of astonishment seep into his voice. "It's felt like a lifetime, to be honest, Anakin. You might not believe the intrigues I've faced in the meantime, without your refreshingly straightforward advice to lean upon. It will be good to hear directly from the front once again."
Anakin looked at the floor, absurdly pleased. "I like to help out however I can, Your Excellency."
"Your service is invaluable to me," Palpatine told him, patting the leather over one broad shoulder. "You bring a focus to the Republic and to myself that cannot be underestimated. I have several necessary engagements this afternoon, Anakin, but I would be happy to debrief the mission with you tonight."
"Thank you, sir!" Anakin's expression betrayed his satisfaction. In the Force, he gleamed with the energy of a sunburst. Palpatine, momentarily arrested by the sensation, shook himself free.
"I'll have my assistant contact the Temple when I've completed the interviews. In the meantime, enjoy your victory, Anakin," he motioned to the bustling crowd. "You've earned it."
The look Obi-Wan sent him across the landing platform might have been described as a scowl, but Palpatine pointedly ignored him.